New Delhi, Mar 19 (IANS): Bringing relief to scores of people reeling under the heat wave so early in the year, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Saturday that there is a falling tendency in maximum temperatures throughout the country.

Phalodi in west Rajasthan recorded the highest maximum temperature at 42.2-degree Celsius on Saturday.

Heat wave conditions are being observed in many parts of the country with severe heat wave conditions in some pockets over Himachal Pradesh and west Rajasthan; heat wave to severe heat wave conditions were also observed in isolated pockets over Jammu division and over west Madhya Pradesh.

"Reported maximum temperatures indicate a falling tendency throughout the country. This trend is likely to cause abatement in the heat wave conditions in most of the affected regions from Sunday," the IMD bulletin said.

However, heat wave conditions are very likely to continue to prevail in isolated pockets over west Rajasthan on Sunday, Vidarbha on Sunday and Monday and west Madhya Pradesh till March 22.

For almost a week, heat wave and severe heat wave conditions had prevailed over Rajasthan, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Vidarbha, Odisha. Earlier in the week, maximum temperatures even in the Himalayan states and foothills had been higher than normal.

The IMD further said that under the influence of a western disturbance, isolated to scattered rainfall/snowfall with isolated thunderstorm/lightning is very likely over the western Himalayan region on Sunday and Monday.

Light isolated rainfall with thunderstorm/lightning is very likely over Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry and Karnataka during the next five days; over Rayalaseema and coastal Andhra Pradesh till March 22 and over Telangana on Sunday.

Light to moderate isolated rainfall is also very likely over Northeast India from March 21, the IMD said.